Helm couple ready for retirement garden joy
By ALLAN TINKER
Last year, 2020, Arlington and Phyllis Helm were honored with a plaque recording their 20 years of Sheridan County Park work. When Arlington started, in the late 1990s, there was no park. Together with volunteers Rod Hill and Paul Hagen, they worked many hours to see the park develop. Built on Bureau of Reclamation Land, there was both support and regulations offered for proper development. The park expanded to include a 4-H arena and building, which is also for rent for various events. There are many parking places for
campers and tents. A memorial camping section for Rod Hill was added to the west side of the Hoffer Lake after his death in 1991. Now the area features both campsites with toilet access, water and electricity hookups, as well as wilderness campsites for tents. There are fire pits in some of these areas as well. Phyllis mowed the lawns in the area, no small job, and took care of “whatever needed doing,” she stated. That included trimming trees, watering, cleaning the bathrooms and the 4-H building. They, together, painted everything
that needed painting. There were ten campsites when it started, then it got bigger when they added the horseshoe portion of six, then another six.
